Most people hire a designer, then find a contractor, then find a real estate agent. And spend the whole time translating between them. We are all three. Our design decisions account for your home's value. Our builds are run the way we'd run our own. And when you're ready to buy or sell from the city to the North Shore, we know these markets the way most people know their own block.
We take your home from first conversation to finished project. You make decisions — paint, tile, cabinetry, finishes. We handle everything else: design, specifications, permits, contractors, punch list. You never have to manage a GC.
START A PROJECT
Kaage Homes Property Group is our real estate team at Compass — third-generation professionals who know the North Shore and Chicago the way most people know their own neighborhood. Buying or selling, we know what a home is worth and why, because we build them.
WORK WITH OUR TEAM
The Workshoppe is where homeowners, designers, and builders come to make better decisions. Browse our curated collection of cabinetry, stone, plumbing, lighting, paint, hardware, and furnishings, all selected because we use them in our own projects. Shop on your own, ask questions, or work one-on-one with a designer. Whether you need a single finish or a complete plan, we'll meet you wherever you are in your project.
STEP INSIDEwas hiding in plain sight?
MEET THE KAAGES
Grace and KC Kaage grew up in families where real estate and design weren't careers — they were the dinner table conversation. Grace is our Chief Creative Officer and a former Compass Managing Director. KC is our Chief Executive Officer with an MBA from Notre Dame and a background in international sales. Together they built Kaage Homes around a simple belief: the people who design your home should also understand what it does to its value.
Most designers don't think about resale. Most contractors don't think about design. Most real estate agents don't think about construction. We think about all three, on every project, because we have to.
We buy, sell, build and restore historic homes and new construction with character.
And we help you do the same.
OUR LATEST HOME ADVENTURE
Restoring an iconic movie character's home
This is Old Man Marley’s house, built in 1898. Benjamin Marshall designed it, long before it played a small but iconic role in the John Hughes' classic, Home Alone.
By the time we found it, most people had written it off.
But we saw something worth saving.
We’re restoring it the right way. Carefully, patiently, and with respect for what’s original. Salvage, not shortcuts. And when something can’t be saved, we document it so the story doesn’t get lost.
You may recognize it. It sits right next door to Kevin McAllister's house.
Home to the hero in the end. The one Kevin was afraid of, at first. The South Bend Shovel Slayer.
This is Old Man Marley's house.
LIVE CLASSES. COMING SOON.
For three generations, our family has built, renovated, and sold homes using a system we have never taught publicly. This September, we're opening it up for the first time. Get on the list for founding member pricing when enrollment opens.
Most people aren't. That's what the introductory call is for.
